Deeper into the Darkness
by Guardian Samuel
Summary: A story following a group of Guardians. Fireteam leader is an Exo Warlock who goes by the name of Sevon. His two companions are Jonas, a Human Titan and Sierra, a Human Hunter.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure this is where it's at?" a voice asked echoing through the empty hallway.

"I'm positive." Replied a somewhat robotic voice. "Cayde would never lie about something like this."

"I don't know Sevon. Those Hunters can be real sneaky. How do you know he isn't trying to get rid of us?" retorted the other man.

Sevon stopped short of a door and signaled for the larger man to take point. The man raised his shotgun up and swiftly stepped through the opening. He did a quick sweep from left to right. Sevon followed him a few feet behind with an auto rifle at the ready. The larger man determined there were no threats and lowered his shotgun.

"To answer your question Jonas, you just need to look at his position. He is a Vanguard after all." Sevon stated walking up to an old, dusty terminal. The lights on the terminal glowed dimly in the darkness, some blinking for unknown reasons.

"This is it. Hopefully we got here before them."

"What's supposed to be in it?" Jonas asked.

"No idea. The Fallen have been showing increased activity in this area. They're looking for something. We just don't know what. Ghost, do your thing."

"Let's see what we have here." Replied a small floating robot. It flew up to the terminal and began working. "Hmm, Golden Age firewalls. I can get it open, but I'll need a few minutes."

A chuckle came from underneath Jonas' helmet. "We haven't met any fallen yet, so you should be fine."

Sevon surveyed the room they were in. They had travelled to an old cosmodrome to investigate the heightened Fallen activity, but something was off.

"Jonas, how long has it been since we landed." Sevon asked staring at a stair case across the room.

"A few hours at best. Why do you ask?" Jonas asked curiously.

Sevon saw a shadow flick across the wall by the stairwell which confirmed his suspicion.

"It's an ambush!" he yelled raising his auto rifle.

Dregs and Vandals seemed to come out of every opening available. Sevon took cover behind a large pillar and began. Jonas scrambled to a large console just barely avoiding a hail of rounds.

"Jeezus! Where did they come from!?" Jonas yelled before peeking over the console and making quick work of a vandal with his shotgun.

"They were waiting for us! I thought something was fishy about how quiet it was!" Sevon yelled as he threw a Nova Grenade killing a few Dregs. Jonas threw his own Flashbang killing a couple more dregs and blinding the rest. Sevon took the chance to mow down any that were left in the open with his auto rifle.

"How did they know we were here though!?" Jonas asked.

"They might have picked up our ships on entry!" Sevon replied.

"What?! Do our stealth drives mean nothing!?"

"That's why I said "might"! Nothing should have picked us up!"

Sevon and Jonas came out of cover and fired at anything that was moving. After what seemed like forever, the last vandal fell to the ground dead. Jonas gave a sigh of relief and sat against the console.

"That was surprising." He stated, quietly reloading his shotgun.

"Guardian, look at this."

Sevon walked up to the console and looked at the screen.

"What is it? I don't see anything?"

"Exactly, someone was here before us. I was able to determine what it was." Ghost replied.

"It wasn't the Fallen was it?" Sevon asked.

"No, it was another Ghost. There is another Guardian in the area, but I cannot determine their location."

"That can only mean one thing." Jonas said standing up.

Sevon nodded. "This Guardian was just resurrected. Which means their Ghost is trying to find a ship to get the Guardian back to the Tower."

"Should we call it quits then and go back? We can wait with the Vanguards and meet the Guardian when he arrives." Jonas suggested.

Sevon shook his head. "We're going to try and find the Guardian. With the amount of Fallen in the area right now, they might be in trouble."

"Sounds like a game plan. Where do you think he went?"

Sevon looked to his Ghost. "Are you sure there was nothing on the terminal?"

"I'm positive, but there can't be too many ships left here. It was difficult for me to find yours." the Ghost replied. "They most likely headed for the Divide."

"Then let's get moving. If this Guardian ends up the way I did, then they'll be in for hell without a ship." Sevon said.

Jonas followed Sevon up the staircase avoiding the bodies of the Fallen as best as possible. They walked outside and looked around.

"Nothing, huh. Think the Fallen are focusing their efforts on the new Guardian."

"I think that's a safe bet. Let's go, they don't have long."

Sevon and Jonas hopped onto their Sparrows and moved on towards the Divide.

_Meanwhile…_

"What's going on? Why is this happening to me?" a woman complained.

"Don't stop Guardian! Keep pushing! We can do this!" exclaimed a voice through her helmet.

"What were those things that I just killed?! Where are we even going?" she asked.

"Those "things" were Fallen. They're creatures that take pride in conquering planets. Our destination is the Tower, but we need a ship to get there. You will be safe once we arrive." The voice replied.

The woman looked down at the beat-up rifle in her hand. She recalled a vague memory of holding a weapon very similar to it in the past. If she had previous experience with firearms, it may explain how her body knew exactly what it was doing, but her mind was still in a mess. It had not been very long since she was "resurrected" as the little robot had put it. She still had no clue what was going on and the fact that she was being hunted didn't help that. All she really knew was that the robot that called itself her Ghost was her best chance of escaping alive.

"We're getting close! Prepare yourself!" the Ghost stated.

The woman came around a corner with her weapon ready. She swiftly looked around the room. A few dregs were standing around that hadn't noticed her. She fired a few controlled bursts from her weapon and took them down. She cautiously moved forward. A splash of water made her jump. She turned around and saw some loose concrete. She sighed in relief, but suddenly a large shadow washed over her.

"Oh shi-"

She was sent flying through the air and smashed into the concrete wall. Her vision was blurry as she attempted to make out her adversary. She gave up and raised her rifle. She pulled the trigger and waited. She looked down to the gun in a panic.

"_Jammed!"_

She threw the gun aside and pulled out the sniper rifle she had found before. The large figure was getting closer every second. She fumbled with the magazine and it fell to the ground beside her. She cursed and picked it up, slamming it into the rifle. She raised the rifle up and fired. The smile that graced her face was replaced with horror as the figure grabbed the barrel of the rifle and threw her aside. She rolled a few meters after landing.

"-dian! Guardian! Get up and run! This is an Archon! You're no match for him! The ship isn't here! We need to retreat!"

The Archon gave off a horrible scream. It seemed to be celebrating.

The Guardian scowled. "You haven't won quite yet you bastard." She muttered standing up knife in hand. "Rargghhhhhhhhhh!" she charged the Archon.

The Archon brought its lower arm up in an uppercut fashion. The Guardian knew she couldn't evade at this distance. She closed her eyes and waited for it. She felt the hands tear off her helmet letting her golden hair flow free.

"What?" she asked herself stepping back away from the Archon which appeared to be in pain. That's when she noticed it. The Ghost was lying a few feet away from the Archon. She ran forward, picked it up and took cover behind a stone pillar.

"Why! Why did you do that!?" she screamed demanding an answer. "I'm not worth it! You should have left me behind!"

"That's not true." The Ghost replied quietly. "You should never give up on life so easily. Even when nothing looks like it's going your way, find the silver lining, grab on, and never let go. Eventually, you will find something that will inspire you to keep on living."

"What will I do now? If you die, I'll have nothing left!" she exclaimed, tears streaming down her face.

"Help… is on the way. I can sense them… Good bye, Guardian."

"My name is Sierra." She said quietly.

"Goodbye, Sierra. Please, live."

The light in the Ghost disappeared. Sierra stared at it in disbelief. The only one who she had known since being resurrected was already dead. Suddenly her senses sharpened and she rolled away just in time to avoid the Archon's arm. It let out a horrible sound as if it was cursing her. It lunged forward, not caring that it had a weapon on its back. Sierra dodged its attacks as best as possible. She began feeling confident that she could get away if it kept up like this, but she made a fatal mistake. Her foot slipped on a piece of wet concrete, sending her tumbling into the water. She put her hands up to best block the attack she knew was about to come.

"Hey! Why don't you pick one someone your own size!"

"Huh?" Sierra looked up and saw an armoured man charge forward and slam his fist into the Archon's side. The large creature stumbled back and roared at him.

Sierra felt a hand on her shoulder and flinched. She turned around and found yet another stranger, this time clad in a large trench coat styled armour.

"Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?" the man asked patting her down.

She yelped in pain as soon as he reached her ribcage.

"You have a few broken ribs. We need to get you back to the Tower."

"Who are you people?" she asked as the stranger slung her over his soulder.

He walked a few meters and set her down in a separate room.

"Stay here. He can't keep that Archon distracted forever." He said cocking his auto rifle.

The man ran back into the other room and soon, all she could hear was the sound of weapons firing. At one point she heard a large explosion that seemed to make the facility shake. After a while, it all stopped. She heard footsteps and looked up. The armoured man was reloading a light machine gun as he walked in and the cloaked figure walked over to her. He kneeled down beside her and removed his helmet. Sierra recoiled at the sight.

"You, you're a robot!" she exclaimed.

The robot sighed. "I'll correct you later. For now, we need to get you out of here. Was your Ghost able to find a ship?"

Sierra shook her head sadly and raised her hand. In it, she grasped the remnants of her dead Ghost.

"Damn… The Speaker will want to hear about this." The armoured man said.

The robot nodded. "Ghost, can you extract anything?"

A Ghost very similar to the one Sierra held in her hand appeared beside the robot.

"Only its memories. The rest of it is too damaged." It said with a tone of sadness.

"So in the end nobody gets the files. I guess it's better than the Fallen getting them, but still, to see another Ghost consumed by the Darkness."

The robot looked at Sierra and gently wrapped her fingers around the Ghost.

"When we get to the Tower, we'll give it a proper farewell. For now, hold on to it."

The robot stood up and put his helmet back on. He then shouldered Sierra once more.

"Ghost, take us in."


	2. Chapter 2

Sierra felt the tingling sensation disappear from her body. She was left with a sense of numbness which was a good thing for her. The pain from her broken ribs was dulled by the strange effect. Looking around she found herself in the bridge of a small jump ship. She looked out the window a couple meters in front of her and gasped quietly. She could see bright stars in the distance painted against the black of space.

"It's beautiful is it not?" the robot asked quietly.

The huntress looked up to the robot with a hint of confusion. She opened her mouth as to ask a question, but faltered and simply nodded in agreement.

"I told you earlier that I would correct you." he stated as he punched in a few commands on a dashboard. A small, white cot slid out from the wall beside Sierra. "Earlier you called me a robot, which isn't completely wrong, but there is one thing that separates my kind from robots. We were made self-aware by the Traveler."

Sevon helped Sierra on to the cot. The huntress grunted as the numbing effect started to slowly fade.

"So what is your kind called?"

"We are referred to as Exos. My own name is Sevon and my friend from before is named Jonas." He replied.

"Guardian, I hate to interrupt, but where should I set destination?" asked a voice over the intercom.

The Exo took off his helmet once more, revealing the sleek metal of his head and set it to the side.

"Set course for the Tower. When we're close, radio ahead on the short-range comms and let them know we have an injured Guardian aboard." He replied with little emotion.

"Do you have any memories? From before you were, resurrected?" Sierra asked.

"You're asking me this because you can't recall any of your own, correct?"

Sierra shifted uncomfortably at how easy Sevon saw through her.

"It's alright. Nobody can ever remember their past life. Even if we could, mine would simply be a bunch of jargon. The Exos were only made self-aware after the Collapse with the help of the Traveler." He explained as he leaned against the wall.

"Why can't we remember them?"

"Probably a defense mechanism. Memories and the emotions they carry with them may negatively impact the state of ones' mind. This in turn leads to poor performance in the field and a Guardian is no more than a target at that point. Waiting to be consumed once more." He replied with a hint of anger and continued on to mutter something indistinctly.

Sierra nodded without a word feeling as though she were the one angering him.

"The Traveler moves in mysterious ways." He continued after a moment of silence. "As a Warlock, it's my duty to unravel those mysteries as best I can. It's a hard thing to study though. All we know is that it brought about the Golden Age when humans discovered it on Mars hundreds of years ago. Life spans increased, diseases were cured, wars came to an end and miracles were common. The only way we might be able to study it is if we knew more about the Darkness, but it certainly isn't signing a peace treaty anytime soon."

Sierra sat on the bed with a blank expression.

"Oh, right, you don't know anything about the Darkness or the Traveler. It will make more sense when you meet the Speaker. He'll tell you all about what happened. For now, you should rest. You've been through a lot." Sevon said.

The huntress nodded and gently laid herself on the small cot. Watching Sevon sit down at the helm of the ship she could hardly see a picture tucked into a slit. She was barely able to make out three figures standing in a plaza. One of the figures was Sevon and the other male she assumed was Jonas. However, there was one figure in the middle she had yet to see. A girl dressed in clothing similar to her own. Her skin was blue, but her eyes glowed a brilliant red. Wondering who the girl was, Sierra fell into a deep sleep leaving the pain in her ribs behind.

A new pain followed her. Images flashed though her mind. Blood and gore strewn battlefields. The stench of death was the only thing she could smell. Bodies with missing limbs were everywhere. No matter which way she looked they were there. None of the bodies had faces. Even though they were like this, she felt something in her gut. She felt like she should recognize them.

"_I see you've returned."_

Sierra did a 180 and found herself staring at a beast of darkness. Its entire body seemed to be composed of shadows. As if out of trained reaction, her hand reached for her hip where she unholstered a revolver type pistol. She immediately fired off six shots, each whizzing through the beast and leaving a small hole in its wake. The beast let out a cold laugh that chilled her to the bone.

"_Bullets cannot harm me for I am only an idea. I am your projection of what the Darkness looks like. It is surprising to see you come back. I never once thought you would have the confidence to return after what happened to your squad." _

"My squad? What the hell are you talking about?" she asked taking a step back.

The beast laughed once more.

"_I see. So that's how the Traveler does it. It hides your memories. I suppose there is nothing I can do for now. I have a feeling you will remember everything in due time. I also have a feeling, you will make the same mistake again."_

Cackling evilly the beast slowly began to disappear.

"What do you mean mistake?! What did I do?!" she screamed.

"All in due time, Sierra. All in due time."

Sierra froze and stared at the beast fearfully.

"_How does it know my name?"_

"_I know everything about you."_

Sierra's eyes shot open and she bolted up. Pain racked her body from the sudden movement causing her to gasp in surprise. Taking a minute to compose herself, she realized her entire body was shaking. She recalled the dream she had just experienced and questioned what exactly the beast meant when it said _"-you will make the same mistake again." _She covered her shoulders with the thin blanket and huddled up against the cool metal of the ship.

"Nightmare?"

Sierra looked up to Sevon who was sitting upright in the same chair he was in when she fell asleep. His upright posture and alertness suggested he never went to bed himself. She nodded to confirm his thoughts.

"Do you not need to sleep?" she asked tiredly. The sleep hadn't done much for her energy because of the dream.

"My body doesn't require sleep or sustenance." He replied.

"Sounds great."

"It isn't."

"How so?"

"Do you know what it's like to be awake for eternity? It has it perks, but it's very, very lonely. I've never known what it's like to sleep. I've only ever been told about it. Every night, all I can do is count the time until the sun rises." He explained. "The only time I'll be able to sleep is when I die, but eternal slumber doesn't sound very appealing either so I'll just keep pushing forward."

Sierra apologized for her rudeness only to be brushed aside.

"Don't worry about it too much. It's not like it's your fault. It's how I was designed. We'll be arriving to the tower soon. I'm surprised you didn't wake up while we were going back into atmo. It's rather bumpy. When we arrive, you'll be taken to the medical bay. After you receive your treatment, we'll head on over to the Speaker and then you can ask as many questions as you like."

Sierra bowed her head.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. If it weren't for you and Jonas I wouldn't be alive right now."

"Guardians have to watch each other's backs. Plus, that Archon was a big problem for Guardians in Old Russia. There was a standing bounty on him with the Future War Cult so we'll make a bit of Glimmer off his death." the Exo replied.

Static sounded over the radio.

"We're being waved in."

"Aye, bring her in, Ghost."

It wasn't long before the ship was docked. The medical team waiting for Sierra rushed her to the med bay with Sevon following closely behind.

"Are you worried about her?" his Ghost asked curiously.

"About the treatment? No, the medical equipment here was from the Golden Age. About how she's going to fare as a Guardian. Yes, she's frail right now and without a Ghost her options are very limited."

"We could open a new route for her."

Sevon slowed his stride, came to a stop, and looked at his Ghost.

"What are you suggesting?" he asked.

"It's be a long shot Guardian, but we may be able to link her with me."

Sevon brought a hand to his chin and began thinking.

"It is true that records never stated a Ghost was restricted to one Guardian, but it's also never been attempted. Nobody knows what effect it might have on the Guardians in question or the Ghost. If it worked though, she would have to join the team as a permanent member."

"Well, what shall we do?" the Ghost asked.

Sevon sighed. "Let's wait. We'll bring it up when we're in the presence of the Speaker. He'll want to know about this if it works."

The Ghost didn't reply and disappeared into nothingness. In the time Sevon had been resurrected, he still had no idea how the Ghost disappeared like that. All he really knew was that it was still with him. He pushed the thought to the back of his head and began walking once more to the medical bay. By the time he got there, Sierra was receiving a final check-up before being released.

"Wow, the technology here is amazing! They mended my ribs together like it was nothing!" Sierra exclaimed.

"Don't put it all on the machines now. The doctors here are the best the City has to offer. Of course we don't have them exclusively. They do plenty of work in the City itself." Sevon replied.

"The City?"

They exited the East wing into the Central Plaza and Sierra gasped. They were thousands of feet above the ground and surrounding the tower was a huge city. Sierra looked over the railing and watched ships fly to and fro.

"This is amazing! Are there others like this?" Sierra asked excitedly.

Sevon shook his head sadly.

"This isn't just known as the City. Its official name is the Last City."

The huntress blinked a few times.

"You mean, this is all that's left of the Golden Age?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Sevon! What took you so long!?" someone yelled.

A large man with a shaven head strode over and pat him on the back.

"Oh! I see you've brought our Hunter friend. Did you get a name out of her?"

Sierra quickly realized that the man in front of her was Jonas.

"Actually, no. I never did catch your name." Sevon stated turning to her.

"Eh? Really? I thought I told you on the ship?"

Sevon shook his head.

"Oh, well, my name is Sierra. It's nice to meet you Jonas." She said extending her hand.

Jonas took her hand and shook vigorously.

"Since you already know my name I assume Sevon here as already told you about us. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

The huntress nodded.

"Alright, then, who was the girl in that photo on your ship, Sevon."

The smile on Jonas's face quickly disappeared and his eyes grew concerned. He looked to Sevon whose fists were clenched and shaking.

"Bring her to the West wing." He said before storming off.

Sierra didn't know how, but she could have sworn she saw a tear.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. It's just that the picture was there and I was curious." She said trying to avoid the topic.

"It's ok." Jonas said. "She… Claire was a good friend ours. Sevon and her were very close. Before I came along, those 2 operated by themselves for a few years. It was a chance encounter for me really. I was on a mission for the Speaker and got pinned down by enemy fire. Those two happened by and decimated the enemy forces. After that, I joined up with them and we were basically unstoppable. There was even talk among the Vanguards about giving us Legendary rifles for the work we had done for the Tower."

"What happened?"

Jonas looked down to the city sadly.

"We were on a patrol, doing side jobs for some clients in the tower when we came across something strange." He stated. "It was some sort of biomass that we had never seen before, but Sevon knew what it was. He had read about it in the archives. It was a Hive nest."

"Hive?"

"They're called the Hive because they're supposed to be hive minded as in there's one central entity that controls them." He explained. "We pushed forward and fought our way through them, scanning what we could to send back to the tower. This was something that hadn't been seen since the start of the collapse so all the data would greatly benefit the Tower. However, there was something there that Sevon never thought he would see, a Wizard. There was an intense battle and Sevon stopped paying attention to his surroundings. He was intent on taking down the Wizard. He never saw the thrall coming from his flank. Before I knew it, the Wizard was dead and Claire was in Sevon's arms, bleeding heavily. She had sacrificed herself for him."

Sierra had both hands to her mouth.

"Oh my god. If I'd known I wouldn't have… I'm so sorry." She muttered.

Jonas shook his head.

"You couldn't have known, just be a little more careful. Claire meant the world to him. I'm not sure he'll ever stop blaming himself for her death."

Jonas sighed once more and straightened up.

"Well, I suppose we should get you to the Speaker now. Sevon will be waiting as well." He said turning around.

Sierra started following him again when she heard the voice of the beast again.

"_You will make the same mistake again."_

She shook her head.

"_Shut the hell up."_


End file.
